桜
さくら
hepburn sakura
cherry blossom, cherry tree
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 春に桜が咲きます。Cherry blossoms bloom in spring.
- 桜の下でお花見をします。We hold ohanami under the cherry blossoms.
Collocations
桜 (sakura, cherry blossom)お花見 (ohanami, blossom viewing)桜前線 (sakura zensen, cherry blossom front)桜餅 (sakura mochi, cherry blossom mochi)夜桜 (yozakura, evening cherry blossoms)
Mnemonic
桜 sakura — quasi-national flower (Japan officially recognizes both 菊 chrysanthemum and 桜) — a metaphor for spring, parting, and life's transience. 桜前線 (sakura zensen, cherry-blossom front) is the JMA's annual northward bloom prediction — from Okinawa (January) to Hokkaido (May). お花見 (ohanami) season overlaps Japan's school and corporate fiscal-year start (April), making sakura the symbol of new beginnings. One word compresses Japanese climate, the school calendar, seasonal ritual, and the aesthetic of 物の哀れ (mono no aware, the pathos of things). The kanji 桜 = 木 (tree) + 嬰 (infant) — "young tree", with the brief spring bloom mirroring childhood.
Quick check
Meaning and function of 桜前線?